Adhesive labels are commonly used to decorate or provide information on various objects and surfaces. Some adhesive labels are preprinted before being sold so a purchaser can readily adhere the adhesive labels to various surfaces as desired. Other adhesive labels, such as shipping labels, are partly printed before being sold to a purchaser, and a purchaser adds additional handwritten or printed information to the adhesive labels following purchase. Still other labels are simply manufactured and sold without any printing, and are then printed upon by the purchaser following purchase.
Shipping labels are one of several applications for which it may be desirable to combine more than one construction onto a single sheet. A common example of a multiple-construction sheet has a data portion that is desktop printer-compatible, and another portion that includes an adhesive label. For many of such multiple-construction sheets, the adhesive label portion is also desktop printer-compatible. For such sheets, the data portion and the adhesive label portion can be printed at the same time. A multiple-construction sheet is helpful when the data for both the data portion and the adhesive label portion are related, such as when it is desirable to print a shipping label and a corresponding packing list onto the same sheet and keep the two portions together.
Conventional methods of forming sheets having more than one construction are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,071,585 and 6,514,588. The methods are performed using a specially modified converting press that is adapted to form release coating and adhesive coating layers on a sheet. A release agent is first applied to a portion of a printable sheet. Then, an adhesive layer is applied over all or most of the release agent, and the adhesive layer is covered with a printable face material to form an adhesive label region. Alternatively, the adhesive layer is first applied to the printable face material, and the release agent is covered with the adhesive side of the printable face material to form the adhesive label region. After forming the adhesive label using either method, the face material is die cut to form one or more labels.
Another method of forming sheets having more than one construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,488. According to that method, adhesive is applied to the back side of a portion of a printable sheet, and then covered by a solid layer, a silicon layer, or a paper or film that includes a release agent that contacts the adhesive to form an adhesive label region. The adhesive label region is then die cut into one or more labels, and the original printable sheet becomes the label face material.
Yet another method of forming sheets having more than one construction includes selectively applying a release agent to a layer of an adhesive laminate construction prior to lamination. The adhesive permanently bonds a portion of the construction, and the release agent portion forms an adhesive label region that can be die cut to form one or more labels. The method requires the use of two layers of material, which is costly and sometimes unnecessary or wasteful. Further, all of the above-described methods utilize equipment that is costly, and modification of a press to perform these methods can be a relatively slow and inefficient process.
Another challenge in producing adhesive labels is the frequent need for the labels to include exterior surface protection that makes the adhesive labels more durable. Overprint coatings and surface laminates are two types of exterior surface protection that increase durability. However, the protective nature of many coatings and laminates prevents future marking or printing on the protected surface. Consequently, when coatings or laminates are added to an adhesive label, a purchaser is unable to easily add handwritten or printed information to the preprinted text or graphics thereon.
One way that some consumers have been able to print onto an adhesive label is through use of a desktop printer. The most common desktop printing technology employed by consumers today is inkjet, which in some cases provides text and images that are of a sufficiently adequate quality to meet consumer expectations and needs. However, the consumer-printed adhesive labels may exhibit certain drawbacks, particularly for applications in which relatively high durability is desired. For example, personal sporting goods and personal electronic devices may require highly durable adhesive labels. In such instances, consumer-printed adhesive labels may not provide adequate water resistance, or sufficient rub, scratch, and abrasion resistance. The consumer-printed adhesive labels may also suffer image fading if the labels are exposed to ultraviolet light, or to various gases in the environment.
Inkjet printer and inkjet printable media manufacturers have made improvements relating to adhesive label water resistance through the development of inkjet topcoatings and improved pigment-based inkjet inks. However, the improved color inkjet inks are still often insufficiently resistant to water exposure, and topcoating development has only proven to be partially successful in improving water resistance.
Other laminated papers and card products that are designed for desktop printing include the feature of a laminated end product with improved water, abrasion, and fade resistance, but such products typically do not include an adhesive surface that would be an important part of a pressure-sensitive label. Another printed product is a self-laminating sign, which provides both lamination of the desktop printed product and pressure-sensitive adhesive label performance. However, the adhesive in such a self-laminating sign is typically disposed about the sign perimeter. In certain circumstances, the perimeter of adhesive provides insufficient adhesion to curved or otherwise irregular surfaces, or for labels that are subject to significant abrasion or handling. In addition, the size of the sign is generally too large for placement on relatively small devices such as personal music players or the like.
As previously mentioned, decorative adhesive labels are sometimes completely preprinted, partially preprinted, or left blank for post-purchase printing, depending on the intended use for the label and the type of device with which the label is used. Although adhesiveness, printability, and other previously-described features are important for an intended user, decorative options are commonly limited to the colors and/or printing on the various labels. A sometimes overlooked but useful feature is an adhesive label's shape. There are numerous ways to shape an adhesive label to fit on various devices while enhancing the visual appeal of both the label and the device on which the label is adhered.
Accordingly, there is a need for adhesive labels that are adapted for use with particular surfaces and devices, and that are shaped to enhance their visual appeal. There is also a need for adhesive labels that include an exterior printed surface protecting agent without impeding a purchaser from easily adding handwritten or printed information to the labels. It is also desirable to efficiently produce adhesive labels that include a multiple-construction sheet, and particularly a multiple-construction sheet that includes a printed surface protecting agent. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.